The Tragedy of Point Wilson
A failed towing negotiation in Port Angeles led to a desperate, fatal attempt to sail across the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
PORT TOWNSEND, June 20—Information received today clears up the mystery connected with the finding of a man in a skiff off Whidby Island at 10 o'clock yesterday. Three men, C. W. Shaffer, M. Nicolin, and his brother-in-law, started from Port Angeles in an open sailboat for Port Townsend. They had entered into negotiations with the owner of a tug to be towed to this point, but the price asked was considered too high, and the men concluded to sail. They encountered heavy winds and an ebb tide near Point Wilson that night. The men were unable to manage the boat, which was capsized, throwing the occupants into the water. Nicolin and his brother-in-law soon sank and perished, while Shaffer had his feet tangled in a mass of rope in the boat's bottom and could not extricate himself, which accounted for his peculiar position when found. Shaffer was the only unmarried man of the party. It is said Nicolin had between $700 and $800 on his person at the time of the drowning, $300 of which was silver. This makes the recovery of the body doubtful, as the weight is too heavy to permit the man rising. It is said that Nicolin was coming to Port Townsend to purchase appointments for a restaurant which he intended opening shortly in Port Angeles.
“They had entered into negotiations with the owner of a tug to be towed to this point, but the price asked was considered too high, and the men concluded to sail.”
The cost of maritime transit—whether it's a tugboat fare in 1889 or a ferry ride today—has always dictated safety in the Salish Sea. This tragedy mirrors the perennial tension between economic necessity and the unforgiving nature of Pacific Northwest waters.
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